WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who’s the state’s strongest advocate in Congress, stated Sunday he’ll determine whether or not to hunt one other time period early subsequent yr.
Durbin, who turned 80 final month, was first elected to the Senate in 1997. Final week, he was reelected to be the quantity two Democrat within the Senate, a vote of confidence from his colleagues. Durbin has held that job, known as the “whip,” since 2005.
The most important political guessing recreation in Illinois is whether or not Durbin will search a sixth time period in 2026. Gov. JB Pritzker, who can also be up for an additional time period in 2026, is seen as prone to run once more at the same time as he considers a bid for president in 2028.
Throughout an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper requested Durbin if he has “determined for those who’re going to run for reelection.”
Durbin replied, “I’ll be making an announcement after the primary of the yr.”
That’s about what Durbin has been saying for months.
However now that day is quickly coming.
Durbin, by reaffirming his self-imposed timetable on Sunday, means the numerous Democrats who’re contemplating working for the not often open Senate seat — and that’s nearly each statewide elected official and about half of the 14-member Illinois Democratic congressional delegation — might have to begin planning in a number of weeks.
Durbin, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is poised to stay the highest Democrat on the panel when Republicans take management of the Senate when the brand new session convenes on Jan. 8.
